The  Voice  of  the 


Valley 

YoneNoguchi 


The  Voice  of  the 
Valley 

YoneNoguchi 


9I16C27 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

GIFT  OF 

Mrs,  Edwin  Grabhorn 


/.«. 


I 


The  Voice  of  the  Valley 


The  Voice  of  the  Valley 

By 

Yone   Noguchi 

Author  of  "  Seen  and  Unseen  " 

I  itroduction  by  Chas.  Warren  Stoddard 
Illustration  by  William  Keith 


William  Doxey 

At  the  Sign  of  the  Lark 

San  Francisco 


Copyright,  1897 
William  Doxey 


THE  DOXEY  PRESS 


To 

Nelly  E.  W.  Smith 

Pray,  thou  who  art  the  first  to  touch  the 
heart  to  these  lines,  be  the  last  to  read 
alone,  and  bless  me  when  the  world  has 
forgotten  me  ! 


Contents 

Introduction 9 

The  Voice  of  the  Valley 

Song  of  Day  in  Yosemite  Valley  .   13 
Song  of  Night  in  Yosemite  Valley  1 1 

In  the  Valley 27 

The  Night  Reverie  in  the  Forest    3 1 

The  Song  of  Songs 

which  is  Noguchi's 

I  Hail  Myself  as  I  do  Homer      .  41 

Hymn  of  Summer 45 

Adieu 49 


Introduction 


T7  VER  since  my  first  visit  to  the  Yosem- 
ite  Valley,  nearly  thirty  years  ago,  I 
have  believed  that  no  verbal  description 
can  give  the  reader  an  adequate  idea  of 
its  marvelous  and  manifold  features ;  that 
th<j  ordinary  forms  of  verse  cannot  com- 
pass it;  that  at  most  the  poet  can  only 
suggest;  and  that,  after  all,  the  mere 
suggestion  is  sufficient — the  imagination 
supplying  what  is  lacking  in  form,  color, 
ard  detail.  But  the  suggestion  must  be 
oifered  by  one  singularly  gifted,  and  pos- 
sessed of  a  temperament  as  picturesque, 
as  variable,  as  unique  as  the  Valley  itself. 


Introduction 

He  must  also  be  a  word-builder,  if  he 
would  conjure  the  echoes  from  that  valley 
of  the  shadow,  where  heaven  and  earth 
meet,  where  there  is  no  horizon  save  the 
cloud-rack  and  the  storm. 

When  I  heard  that  Yone  Noguchi  was 
in  the  Yosemite  with  his  exalted  muse,  it 
seemed  to  me  that  this  unconventional 
child  of  nature,  this  boy  whose  heart  and 
soul  lie  naked  and  bare,  must  strike  a 
chord  that  all  the  voices  of  nature  shall 
respond  to — and  for  these  reasons: — 

Noguchi  is  a  word-builder  of  startling 
originality  and  power;  inspired  by  the 
charming  audacity  of  innocence,  he  is 
unfaltering  in  his  flights;  the  sensuous 
imagination  of  the  Oriental  has  lost  noth- 
ing of  its  fire  and  splendor,  though  the 
new  medium  of  expression  is  the  most 
literal  English  that  ever  was  uttered :  his 
lines  are  charged  with  primitive  eloquence ; 


Introduction 

hirt  is  the  spontaneous  song  of  a  heart 
thit  is  overflowing  with  melody — of  a 
soul  that  would  set  all  the  world  to  mu- 
sic. There  are  passages  in  his  poems  as 
lofty  and  abrupt  as  the  precipitous  walls 
of  the  Valley  he  adores ;  there  are  shad- 
ows, also,  where  the  imagery  is  vague — as 
imagery  should  be  where  overshadowed; 
there  are  heights  dazzling  with  frost  and 
sunshine;  and  over  all  is  the  fathomless 
ard  alluring  sky,  into  which  he  soars  like 
that  aspiring  soul  of  song  that  rests  not 
this  side  the  Gate  of  Heaven. 

If  he  is  sometimes  obscure,  it  is  be- 
cause he  has  flown  into  cloud-land,  where 
obscurity  is  a  virtue ;  haunted  by  a  mem- 
oiy  of  Yosemite,  an  occasional  extrava- 
gance is  surely  permissible. 

With  the  passionate  enthusiasm  of 
youth,  this  unspoiled  poet  has  fluttered 
tre  eagles  on  their  star-crowned   peaks, 


Introduction 

and  I  glory  in  the  almost  frenzied  daring 
with  which  he  has  chanted  The  Song  of 
Songs  which  is  NoguchVsl 

Chas.  Warren  Stoddard. 

Si.  Anthony's  Rest, 
The  Bungalow, 

No.  300  M  Street,  N.  W^ 
Washington,  D.  C. 


12 


Song  of  Day 

in  Yosemite  Valley 


Song  of  Day  in  Yosemite 
Valley 

O  THUNDEROUS  opening  of  the 
unseen    gate   of   solemn    Heaven's 
Eternal  Court ! 
Behold,  clouds,  tenants  of  the  sky,  sweep 
down  from  the  Heavens  unto  a  se- 
cret palace  under  the  Earth  !  — 
Aye,  mighty  Yosemite! — a  glorious  troop 

of  the  unsufFering  souls  of  gods 
Marches  on  with  battle-sound  against  the 

unknown  castle  of  Hell ! — 
Ay <j,  a  divine  message  of  Heaven  unto 
Earth — the  darksome  house  of  mor- 
tals— to  awake ! 
15 


Song  of  Day  in  Yosemite  Valley- 
Hark — the  heart-broken  cry  of  a  great 

Soul!— 
Nay,  the  tempestuous  song  of  Heaven's 
organ  throbbing  wild  peace  through 
the  sky  and  land ! 
The  Shout  of  Hell  wedded  to  the  Silence 
of  Heaven  completes  the  Valley  con- 
cert, forms  the  true  symphony — 
The  Female-light  kissing  the  breast  of  the 
the  Male-shadow  chants  the  sacred 
Union ! 

I,  a  muse  from  the  Orient,  where  is  re- 
vealed the  light  of  dawn, 
Harken  to  the  welcome  strains  of  genii 
from  the  heart  of  the  great  Sierras — 
I  repose  under  the  forest-boughs  that 
invoke  the  Deity's  hymn  from  the 
Nothing-air. 

16 


Song  of  Day  in  Yosemite  Valley- 
Here,  brother  mortal,  lies  the  path,  like 
Beauty's  arm,  guiding  thee  into  the 
Heaven  afar!  — 
Alone  I  stray  by  the  mountain  walls  that 

support  the  enameled  mirror-sky, 
Enfolding  my  free-born  soul  in  the  vice- 
purifying  odors  of  the  forest  from  an 
unknown  corner  of  Paradise. 
A  rt  thirsty  ?  —  here  rolls  the  snow-robed 

water  for  thy  fulfillment ; 
Eoes  dullness  veil   thee?  —  here  a  stone 
chamber  invites  thee  into  the  world 
of  dreams  through  an  unseen  door. 
C  return,  brother  mortal,  from  Samsara 

unto  the  great  Valley ! 
1  ea,  the  mighty  Temple  of  the  World, 
everlasting  with  the  heaven  and  earth, 
welcomes  thee ! 

17 


Song  of  Day  in  Yosemite  Valley 

Behold !  Yosemite,  sermoning  Truth  and 
Liberty,  battles  in  spirit  with  the 
Pacific  Ocean  afar! 

0  unfading  wonder,  eternal  glory !  I  pray 

a  redemption  from  the  majesty  that 
chains  me  — 
(Lo,    Hell    offers    a   great    edifice    unto 
Heaven !)     O,  I  bid  my  envy  and 
praise  rest  against  thee ; 

1  am   content   in  the  sounding    Silence, 

in  the  powerless  Time  that  holds  the 

Valley  in  the  age  of  gold ; 
I  proffer  my  stainful  body  and  leprous 

soul     with     blackest     shame     unto 

thee; 
I  am  united  with  the  Universe,  and  the 

Universe  with  me. 


18 


Song  of  Day  in  Yosemite  Valley 

O  hail,  brother  mortal !  the  true  joy  is 
revealed  unto  thee  — 

Be  thou  a  wave  ebbing  and  flowing  with 
the  air  of  Heaven ! 

Behold !  The  genii  of  the  forest  chant 
Peace  unto  the  Lord  from  an  un- 
known shrine  in  the  Valley  temple. 

O  nighty  chapel  of  God  !  Thou  know- 
est  not  an  iron  chariot  stained  with 
hostile  blood;  — 

Aye,  idle  spears  and  foolish  shields  dare 
not  ruin  thee,  proclaiming  War  in 
Eternity ! 


19 


8ong  of  Night 

in  Yosemite  Valley 


Song  of  Night  in  Yosemite 
Valley 

HARK!       The     prophecy  -  inciting 
windquake    of    the    unfathomable 
concave  of  darkest  Hell ! 
O,    the    God-scorning     demon's     shout 
against    the    truth-locked    gate    of 
mighty  Heaven ! 
Heaven  and  Hell  joining  their  palace  and 
dungeon,  remould  the  sinful  universe 
to  an  ethereal  paradise  — 
O,  the  sphere  is  shaken  by  the  Master- 
Mechanic  working  from  the  surface 
of  the  world  to  its  center ! 

23 


Song  of  Night  in  Yosemite  Valley 

Alas,  the  sun  has  fled  in  saddest  woe  !  — 
O  mortal,  breathe  thy  silent  prayer 
unto  mighty  Yosemite  for  mirth  ! 

Behold,  the  light  of  day  leaves  the  white 
mansion  to  the  care  of  dolorous 
night !  — 

The  genii  of  the  Valley  fly  from  the  roar 
of  a  thousand  lions  to  the  sacred 
peace  above  — 

Lo,  an  unknown  jeweler  decks  the  black, 
velvety  heaven  with  treasure-stars  — 

Yea,  the  Mother-Goddess,  mantling  the 
earth  with  the  night,  forbids  Yosem- 
ite disturb  her  baby-angeFs  dream  in 
the  heaven  ! 

Hark !  the  night  disconcord  of  the  eter- 
nal falling  of  waters  sounding  dis- 
content throughout  the  earth  — 

24 


Song  of  Night  in  Yosemite  Valley 

O,  a  chariot  is  rushing  down  to  an  un- 
known hollow  in  wild  triumph  ! 

Behold,  a  dragon  reveals  divinity  in  the 
ghostly-odorous  sky  of  night  — 

Nay,  the  mighty  sword  of  the  Judgment 
Day  blazes  down  the  Heaven  to  the 
gate  of  Hell ! 


25 


Ill  the  Valley 


In  the  Valley 

T"^HE    Sierra-rock,  a   tavern    for   the 
'-*•     clouds,   refuses   to   let   Fame    and 

Gold  sojourn. — 
Down  the  Heaven  by  the  river-road,  an 

angel's  ethereal  shadow  strays. — 
Th^  Genii  in  the  Valley-cavern  consult  in 

silence  the  message  of  the  Heavens. 
O  .Lord,  show  unto  mortals  thy  journal  — 
the  balance  of  Glory  and  Decay ! 


29 


T he  Night  Reverie 
in  the  Forest 


The  Night  Reverie  in  the 
Forest 

aT3  UY  my  tears  that  I  sucked  from  the 

**9  breast  of  Truth — tears,  sister  spirits 

of  Heaven's  smile ! "  sobs  the  Wind. 

T  hou  pale  Wind,  tear-vender  of  the  hid- 
eous night,  no  one  welcomes  thee 
with  thy  unsold  tears  ! 

Thou  Gipsy-Wind,  my  fellow-wanderer 
who  fears  light,  cease  thy  plaintive 
strain  of  the  sweet  home  ever  lost ! 

"  O  Poet,  sole  midnight  comforter,  share 
my  tears  in  thy  heart  ever  tenanted 
by  Autumn!" 

33 


The  Night  Reverie  in  the  Forest 

Kiss  me,  Wind,  to  whom  the  gates  of 
Spring  never  swing  open,  let  us  sleep 
under  the  weeping  candle-star ! 

O  Repose,  whose  bosom  harbors  the 
heavenly  dream-ships,  welcome  me, 
an  exiled  soul ! 

Thou  Forest,  where  Peace  and  Liberty 
divide  their  wealth  with  even  a  home- 
less convict, 

Let  me  sleep  in  thy  arm-boughs,  safer  far 
than  a  king's  iron  castle  guarded  by 
mortal  power ! 

Lull  thy  guest  to  reverie,  master-spirit  of 
the  forest,  with  thy  solemn  love-tales 
of  ancient  gods ! 

Here  Ease  and  Grandeur  lodge  in  the 
forest's  heart,  where  Time  ever 
reveals  his  changeless  youth. 

34 


The  Night  Reverie  in  the  Forest 

Fiv-2  miles  I  traveled  —  the  black-robed 
bird-monk  had  ended  his  last  prayer, 
a  good-night  hymn ; 

Ten  miles, —  I  lost  the  home  window- 
light  that  bids  Sorrow  and  Tears 
depart  like  masterless  dogs ; 

Twenty  miles, —  the  eloping  mother-moon 
had  abandoned  her  child,  my  lonely 
soul. 

Thou  Darkness,  bewailing  thy  desertion 
by  Light,  I  deplore  my  like  fate, 
echoing  thy  saddest  strain  !  — 

Friend  Night,  my  tears  overflow  from  the 
love-fountain  unto  the  sorrow-made 
dells ! 

I,  ;m  idle  singer,  fleeing  from  the  world's 
shame,  make  a  pilgrimage  to  an  un- 
known land — O  Heaven  —  or  Hell  ? 

35 


The  Night  Reverie  in  the  Forest 

Thou  Silence,  who  never  responds  to 
mortal's  voice,  where  is  the  secret 
door  of  Paradise  ?  —  Speak  once  unto 
me ! 

O  Star,  thou  radiant  spirit  of  the  blessed 
Beatrice  who  once  guided  a  mortal 
unto  Heaven,  brighten  now  my 
darksome  path ! 

I,  a  lone  pilgrim,  knock  at  the  gate  of 
Heaven  —  nay,  the  silent  castle  of 
Repose  —  O  Repose  ! 

Rhyme  on,  Lady  -  Rivulet  from  thy 
mountain  Memnon,  thy  tunable  song 
awakening  mortals'  vanity-dreams ! 

Ah,  Nakedness!  Nakedness— to  whom 
Shame  and  Pride  are  buried  in  the 
peaceful  tomb  of  Faith ! 


36 


The  Night  Reverie  in  the  Forest 

Ah,  Loneliness!  Loneliness  —  to  whom  a 
boatman  of  God  is  the  sole  savior 
on  the  vast  Sea  of  Eternity ! 

I  repose  under  the  forest's  arm-boughs  — 
if  I  awaken  not  forever,  pray,  brother 
mortal, 

Make  my  grave  under  the  greenest  grass 
and  carve  this  line :    "  Here  sleeps 

A  NAMELESS    POET." 


37 


The  Song  of  Songs 
which  is  Noguchi's 


I  Hail  Myself  as  I  do  Homer 

^""\HE  heart  of  God,  the  unpretending 
-     heaven,    concealing    the    midnight 
stars  in  glassing  the  day  of  earth, 
Showers  his  brooding  love  upon  the  green- 
crowned    goddess,    May    Earth,   in 
heart-lulling  mirth. 
O  Poet,  begin  thy  flight  by  singing  of  the 

hidden  soul  in  vaporous  harmony ; 
Startle  the  lazy  noon  drowsing  in  the  full- 
flowing  tide  of  the  sunbeams  nailing 
thy  chants  in  Eternity  ! 
The  melody  breathing  peace  in  the  name 
of  Spring,  calms  tear  to  smile,  envy 
to  rest. 


I  Hail  Myself  as  I  do  Homer 

Ah  thou,  world  of  this  day,  sigh  not  of 
the  poets  who  have  deserted  thee  — 
aye,  I  hail  myself  as  I  do  Homer ! 

Behold,  a  baby  flower  hymns  the  cre- 
ation of  the  universe  in  the  breeze, 
charming  my  soul  as  the  lover- 
moon  ! 

O  Yone, —  a  ripple  of  the  vanity-water,  a 
raindrop  from  the  vanity-cloud, — 
lay  thy  body  under  the  sun-enameled 
shade  of  the  trees 

As  a  heathen  idol  in  an  untrodden  path 
awakening  in  spirit  sent  by  the 
unseen  genius  of  the  sphere  ! 

The  earth,  a  single-roomed  hermitage 
for  mortals,  shows  not  unto  me  a 
door  to  Death  on  the  joy-carpeted 
floor  — 

42 


I  Hail  Myself  as  I  do  Homer 

Aye,  I  call  the  once  dead  light  of  day 
from  the  dark-breasted  slumber  of 
night !  — 

I  repose  in  the  harmonious  difference  of 
the  divine  Sister  and  Brother, — Voice 
and  Silence  in  Time. 

O  Yone,  return  to  Nature  in  the  wood- 
land,—  thy  home,  where  Wisdom 
and  Laughter  entwine  their  arms  ! 

Ah  Cities,  scorning  the  order  of  the  world, 
ye  plunder  rest  from  night,  paint  day 
with  snowy  vice, — 

Alas,  the  smoke-dragon  obscures  the  light 
of  God;  the  sky-measuring  steeple 
speaks  of  discontent  unto  the  Heaven ! 

O  Yone,  wander  not  city-ward  —  there 
thou  art  sentenced  to  veil  thy  tears 
with  smiles ! 

43 


I  Hail  Myself  as  I  do  Homer 

Behold,  the  cloud  hides  the  sins  of  the 

cities  —  regiments  of  redwood-giants 

guard  the  holy  gates  of  the  woodland 

against  the  shames ! 
Chant   of    Nature,   O  Yone, —  sing  thy 

destiny  — hymn  of  darkness  for  the 

ivory-browed  dawn  — 
Behold,  the  deathless  Deity  blesses  thee  in 

silence   from  the  thousand   temples 

of  the  stars  above  ! 


44 


Hymn  of  Summer 

THIS  is  the  month  of  gracious  shade 
of  trees  —  dusky  hair  on  the  marble 
ground-chest     invoking      mortals' 
worship, 
H  *re  the  composed  wonder  of  the  earth- 
canvas  is  divided  by  the  proud  black 
shade  and  virtuous  white  light. 
Sing,  Summer  Muse,  the  abundant  love 
of  the  shade  and  light  that  overflows 
from  Time's  grand  breast ! 
H  irken,  Genii,  to  the  light  and  shade  — 
gay  prattle  that  is  the  despair  of  the 
poet's  soul !  — 

45 


-' 


Hymn  of  Summer 


The  zealous  breezes  from  the  four  corners 
of  the  universe  are  pilgrims  unto  the 
forest-shrine  where  I  pray. 

Confess,  mortals,  the  deep-grounded  sins 
of  thy  memory-record  unto  the  God 
of  the  Woodland ! 

Ah,  wonderful  is  the  sacred  remedy 
ensainting  mortals'  self-love  at  the 
forest-shrine ! 

Listen  !  The  sorrowless  birds  rejoice  at  the 
revealing  of  the  Perfect  Day ;  they 
bend  not  their  wishes  unto  titles  and 
gold. 

Enter  into  Paradise,  mortals, —  the  guar- 
dian-birds of  the  hidden  gate  call  thee ! 

Come,  Goddess,  whose  maiden  eye-doors 
are  enameled  with  the  dethroned 
stars  of  heaven  — 

46 


Hymn  of  Summer 

Come,  Beauty,  whose  lips,  portals  to  the 
love-mansion  of  her  heart,  are  illu- 
mined with  blood  from  flower  cheeks, 

Sing  unto  thy  slave  the  song  of  the 
angel-land  where  thou  and  I  hide 
from  vile  mortals ! 

Sing,  Summer  Muse,  the  everlasting 
greenness  of  trees  that  breathes  the 
unwithering  health  of  celestial  youth ! 

I  hail  the  beauteous  abundance  of  the 
leaves  that  perfect  their  secret  toilet 
with  the  sun's  power ! 

Ris  iy  Poet,  sing  of  the  fairy  world  that  is 
not  Time's  mere  fancy,  where  the 
olive  of  balmy  age  ever  lives ! 

Thou,  fearless  mortals  against  Fate's 
tyranny,  art  the  worthy  partners  of 
Heaven  and  Earth ! 

47 


Hymn  of  Summer 

Oh,  this  is  the  happy  month  of  the  ethe- 
real water  that  destroys  Death  and 
Sorrow  for  mortals  under  the  shade  ! 

I  repose  in  the  shade-breezes  from  angels' 
gardens  —  I  sing  the  summer  song 
that  the  rivulet  echoes  down  from 
afar! 


48 


Adieu 

ADIEU,  Sons  and  Daughters  of  the 
J-  «*  first  pair  of  mortals ! 
Adieu,  City  —  you  know  not  of  celestial 

joy  rippling  in  tune  with  nature  ! 
Adieu,  Fame  —  a  sunbeam  following  the 

darkness  of  night ! 
Adieu,  Gold  —  glittering  dust  of  the  earth, 

valueless  in  the  land  of  Heaven ! 
Adieu,    Mansions  —  you    wall    the    sky, 

hide  the  moon  and  the  stars ! 
]  love  the  unbroken  peace  of  the  country 

uniting  the  purple  heaven  with  the 

green-carpeted  earth  below, — 

49 


Adieu 

I  love  the  saintly  chant  of  the  winds 
touching  their  odorous  fingers  to  the 
harp  of  the  angel,  Spring, — 

I  love  the  undiscording  sound  of  thou- 
sands of  birds,  whose  concord  of 
song  echoes  on  the  rivulet  afar, — 

I  muse  on  the  solemn  mountain  which 
waits  in  sound  content  for  the  time 
when  the  Lord  calls  forth, — 

I  roam  with  the  wings  of  high-raised 
fantasy  in  the  pure  universe, — 

Oh,  I  chant  of  the  garden  of  Adam  and 
Eve! 

Behold !  The  night's  shadow  girding 
round  our  half-sphere,  the  world 
goes  into  reverie, — 

Yea,  my  spirit  in  a  dream  rises  afar  to  steal 
the  matchless  pearls  of  eternal  stars ! 

50 


Adieu 

Hark!     the    far-off   fowl    sings   of   the 

divine   morn  of  light !     I    hail  the 

glorious  sun's  ascent ! 
I  chant  again  of  the  complete  order  of 

the  universe  with  the  earth,  with  the 

heaven  above ! 


5i 


«.,!-,-■■" 


The  Voice  of  the 
Valley 

YoneNoguchi 


